Like a kid about to unwrap a gift.
Like a woman about to get a prize.
Like a prisoner about to taste freedom again.
Although there was no freedom with him. He was the opposite of freedom.
She knew who he was.
Women talked about him.
And men talked about him.
He was one of the most wanted men, for different reasons, though.
The long arm of the law was about to hammer down on him, and villains as much as lawmen were after him.
They wanted his freedom, his money, his blood.
They wanted his power, his name dragged through the mud, his credibility destroyed.
They wanted him to get ruined, so all the power he amassed would be up for grabs.
They hoped for one wrong move from him.
A stupid deal, a shady alliance, the pillars of trust collapsing, and a deluge of betrayals.
That’s what they wanted from him.
We all know that kind of business.
Even I know that sort of business, only watching it from afar.
You get backstabbed more times than you get a break.
You stare death in the eye more times than you revel in the promise of a better future.
Betrayal sits with you at the table, so it can turn into a fussy mistress in the bedroom, later.
Something must’ve happened to him, and with things coming sideways, the Gallo patriarch must’ve asked for a private meeting and made him a proposal.
Knowing Giorgio’s depraved ways, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had something to do with O’Hara’s empire falling apart to begin with.
For all I know, they could’ve been enemies.
But this is the game they play.
They don’t count on anyone to be their friend and know for sure that everybody wants them dead.
This is a cutthroat business, and no matter how big or powerful you are, you can’t stop being cautious, or you’ll fall like everybody else.
One day you’re up, the next you're down, and when it happens, losers can’t be choosers.
Giorgio must’ve known that––it’s only a speculation on my part––and asked my mother’s future husband for an unlikely alliance, which in exchange would've saved his legacy, restored his power, and also fended off bigger enemies they had in common.
Or so the story goes.
If Giorgio did that, he must’ve been certain he’d get a yes.
